Floor leveling device



Dec. 3, 1968 H. T. DUDLEY 3,413,771

FLOOR LEVELING DEVICE Filed April 20, 1966 J5 :QQ AE.

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United States Patent 3,413,771 FLOOR LEVELING DEVICE Hubert T. Dudley, Arlington, Va., assignor to Timber Engineering Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 543,951 7 Claims. (Cl. 52-480) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A floor leveling device for spacing sleepers at varying distances above an existing floor. The height at which the device supports the the sleepers is adjustable by bending the pair of legs which project upwardly in sloping relation from the base plate. The legs are secured to one of the sleepers and the base plate is secured to the existing floor.

This invention relates to building construction and more particularly to rehabilitating warped and uneven flooring of buildings.

The floors of buildings, particularly wood floors, tend to slope or sag after long periods of use. The uneven floors result primarily from settling of the building or concentrated loading of one area of floor. Although the flooring may be perfectly sound structurally, it may appear to be undesirable. In apartment buildings, for example, it is essential that the flooring be level in order to attract tenants. The useful life of old apartment buildings could could be extended if they could be rehabilitated sufi'iciently to attract tenants.

Sloping, damaged or warped floors can be repaired by tearing up the flooring and subflooring and applying a new floor on the joists or beams, using shims where necessary to level the flooring. A floor that has been rebuilt in this manner is substantially level and even, but the process is expensive, since hand labor is required. The cost would be prohibitive for most buildings. Another disadvantage is that rebuilding a floor in this manner is a slow process, and consequently, the apartment building would remain unoccupied for a long period of time, resulting in a substantial loss of revenue for the owner.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide means for rehabilitating uneven and damaged flooring in buildings.

It is another object of this invention to provide means that can be used quickly and eflectively for rehabilitating uneven flooring.

These objects are accomplished in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention by superimposing over the existing floor a plurality of sleepers or stringers on which a new floor is laid. The sleepers are supported by a plurality of floor leveling devices. Each device includes a base and upwardly sloping leg portions projecting outwardly from the base. A sleeper is received between flanges on each of the leg portions and secured regidly to the leg portions by nails or other fasteners. The base is secured to the existing floor. The elevation of the sleeper above the existing floor may be adjusted by swinging the leg portions upwardly or downwardly relative to the base, and if necessary, the sleeper may be twisted longitudinally relative to the leveling device before being rigidly secured to the leveling device. A plurality of leveling devices are spaced apart along the length of each sleeper and adjusted according to local variations in the existing floor. When installed in this manner, the sleepers may be aligned with each other so that the upper surfaces of the sleepers lie in a common plane and the flooring that is applied on the sleepers will be perfectly level.

This preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Patented Dec. 3, 1968 ice:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a building in which the leveling devices of this invention have been installed over an existing floor;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the leveling device supporting a sleeper above the existing floor;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the sleeper and floor along the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the leveling device; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the sleeper and floor as in FIG. 3, but as applied over warped flooring.

A portion of a conventional apartment building is illustrated schematically in FIG. 1. The walls 2 of the building support floor joists 4 on which conventional flooring boards 6 are laid. Of course, finished flooring may be laid over subflooring, as is the customary practice, but the subflooring is not shown in FIG. 1. The floor joists 4 may have developed a sag over a long period of time to cause a depression in the floor. Also, uneven settling of the walls 2 may cause the floor 6 to slope toward the corner, for example, and the entire floor may be uneven.

A new floor that is level and substantially flat may be applied over the existing flooring 6 by positioning sleepers 8 with the upper surfaces of the sleepers lying in a common, level plane. The sleepers S are supported over the floor 6 by floor leveling devices 10. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, each device 10 has a base 12 and upwardly sloping leg portions 14. The base 12 has a plurality of strengthening ribs 13.

The leg portions 14 have upturned flanges 16 to form a channel for receiving a sleeper 8. The flanges 16 extend outwardly from the base 12 a distance greater than the web portion which interconnects the flanges and an edge 18 is formed between the flanges 16. Each flange 16 has a hole for receiving a nail 20 which rigidly fastens the the sleeper 8 to the device 10.

The flanges 16 are reinforced by ribs 22 and 23 which extend longitudinally of the flanges. The ribs 22 are substantially aligned with the holes for receiving the nails 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the ribs 22 extend from the edge of the nail hole to a point below a line interconnecting the transverse edges 18 of the leg portions 14. The ribs 23 extend substantially the entire length of the flange 16. The nails 20 resist spreading of the leg portions 14 when a load is applied to the sleeper 8. If the device without the ribs 22 and 23 were greatly overloaded, failure normally would occur along the flanges 16 at approximately the line intersecting the edges 18 of the opposite leg portions 14. The ribs 22 and 23 thus strengthen the flanges 16 along the lines of potential failure to enable the device 10 to support maximum loads.

The leveling device is preferably secured to the floor 6 by nails 24 that extend through holes 26 at opposite ends of the base 12. It is important for the fastening device to be rigidly secured to the floor 6 in order to resist a tendency of the device 10 to lift up off the surface of the floor when a load is applied to the sleeper at a point spaced from the device along the length of the sleeper. When the base 12 is rigidly fastened to the floor, vertical deflection of the sleeper 8 is greatly reduced and a floor applied across the top of the sleepers 8 is considerably more rigid than it would be if the bases 12 of the devices 10 were not secured to the floor 6.

The floor 6 that is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 is relatively flat. Often, however, the floor 6 may be warped, so that it is concave at the point where it is necessary to install a floor leveling device 10. It is important that the sleeper 8 be positioned with its top surface in a level plane in order to support the new floor evenly. This is accomplished by positioning the device 10 at a location on the floor 6 oflset from the vertical centerline of the sleeper 8 sufiiciently to compensate for the curvature of the floor. The flanges 16 are positioned on opposite sides of the sleeper 8, although the flanges are not parallel with the sides of the sleeper 8. The nails 20 nevertheless may be driven through the holes in the flanges 16 to support the sleeper 8 rigidly in its desired position.

The elevation of the sleeper above the floor 6 may be adjusted by bending the leg portions 14 upward or downward relative to the base 12. If the floor 6 is sloping downwardly from left to right, as viewed in FIG 2, the base 12 of the device would be supported flat against the surface of the floor 6 and thus would not be parallel to the sleeper 8. In order to support the sleeper 8 in a level position, it would therefore be necessary for the right-hand leg portion 14 to be bent upwardly at a greater angle with respect to the plane of the base 12 than would be the left-hand leg portion 14, as viewed in FIG. 2. The leg portions 14 are individually adjustable to accommodate reasonably large variations in distance between the sleepers 8 and the floor 6. To obtain maximum strength, it is preferable for the leg portions 14 to have a slope of about 75 although the angle of the installed fasteners relative to the sleeper would depend upon the distance between the sleepers and floor.

In order to rehabilitate a floor in accordance with this invention, the base of a device 12 is secured to the floor 6 by driving a nail 24 through each nail hole 26. A sleeper 8 is then laid across the device where it is received between the flanges 16. Usually the sleeper 8 would rest on the edges 18 while the leg portions 14 are being positioned to support the sleeper 8 at the proper elevation above the floor 6. The leg portions 14 are adjusted upwardly or downwardly until the desired elevation of the sleeper is achieved. The sleeper may be rotated about its longitudinal axis relative to the flanges, as shown in FIG. 5, to align the top of the sleeper 8 with adjacent sleepers 8. It is not necessary for the sleeper 8 to engage the edges 18 when it is fastened to the flanges 16, although this is desirable, since the nail 20 will be positioned at the maximum distance from the lower edge of the sleeper 8. When the nails 20 have been driven into the sleeper 8, the device rigidly supports the sleeper 8 at the desired elevation above the floor 6 and resists loads imposed on the sleeper 8. The locations of the various devices 10 over the surface of the floor of course depend upon the amount of loading that is expected. The ends of the sleepers 8 may be supported at the walls 2 by a sill between the floor and the sleeper 8, or one of the devices 10 may be positioned as close as possible to the wall for supporting the end of the sleeper.

One advantage of the fastening device of the invention is that it is unnecessary to alter existing flooring. A new floor may be applied directly over the existing floor very rapidly. In fact, if the fasteners were applied to the sleepers 8 before being transported to the job site, additional installation time could be saved. One of the leg portions 14 could be nailed to the sleeper and the other leg portion of each device could remain unsecured until the sleeper is installed at the job site. The other leg portion could then be adjusted and nailed to the sleeper. The leg portions 14 are readily adjusted by the workmen prior to nailing, and this is the only adjustment necessary to compensate for variations in slope of the floor and variations in distance between the sleeper 8 and the surface of the floor.

Since the fastening device of the invention is relatively inexpensive and may be applied rapidly, an existing floor may be rehabilitated in a minimum of time and at a minimum expense. When fastened to the sleepers and the floor, the fastening devices are capable of supporting relatively large loads and resist the tendency of the sleepers to bounce in response to load spaced along the length of the sleeper.

While this invention has been illustrated and described in one embodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. Floor rehabilitation construction for providing a level floor over an existing floor comprising a plurality of sleepers positioned above said existing floor, a plurality of floor leveling devices interposed between said sleepers and said existing floor, said devices having a base and a pair of leg portions extending in upwardly sloping relation from opposite edges of said base, each leg portion having upturned flanges forming a channel therebetween and each leg portion having a transverse edge between said flanges, said transverse edge being substantially parallel to said base edges, said flanges each terminating at one end spaced outwardly from said base a greater distance than said transverse edge, means for securing said base to said existing floor, and means for securing said one end of each flange to one of said sleepers, whereby the top of said sleepers support said level floor.

2. Floor rehabilitation construction according to claim 1 wherein said leg portions swing in a substantially vertical plane about said opposite edges.

3. Floor rehabilitation construction according to claim 1, wherein said flange securing means includes a single nail extending through said flange one end into said one sleeper.

4. Floor rehabilitation construction according to claim 3, wherein said flanges have a rib extending longitudinally thereof for strengthening said flanges.

5. Floor rehabilitation construction according to claim 1 wherein said one sleeper top surface is in sloping relation to said transverse edge.

6. Floor rehabilitation construction for providing a level floor over an existing floor comprising a plurality of sleepers positioned above said existing floor, a plurality of floor leveling devices interposed between said sleepers and said existing floor, said devices having a base and leg portions extending between said base and one of said sleepers, each of said leg portions having upturned flanges forming a channel therebetween, said one sleeper being received between said flanges, means for securing said base to said existing floor, said base extending outwardly on opposite sides of said leg portions, said base securing means including nails extending through a portion of said base spaced outwardly from said leg portions, and means for securing said leg portions to said one sleeper, whereby the top of said sleepers support said level floor.

7. Surface rehabilitation construction for providing a plane surface over an existing surface comprising a plurality of stringers superimposed on said existing surface, a plurality of floor leveling devices interposed between said stringers and said existing surface, said devices having a base and a pair of leg portions extending in upwardly sloping relation from opposite edges of said base, each leg portion having upturned flanges forming a channel therebetween and each leg portion having a transverse edge between said flanges, said transverse edge being substantially parallel to said base edges, said flanges each terminating at one end spaced outwardly from said base a greater distance than said transverse edge, means for securing said base to said existing surface, and means for securing said one end of each flange to one of said stringers whereby the tops of said stringers support said plane surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,195,289 8/1916 Stevens 52-480 1,767,575 6/1930 Bujack 52-370 2,201,714 5/ 1940 Bugenhagen 52-370 2,284,898 6/1942 Hartman 52-376 2,895,704 7/1959 Urbain 52-480 3,094,745 6/ 1963 Stout 52-480 3,316,680 5/1967 Chrastek 52-480 X JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner. 

